Wednesday, John Brennan called jihad a “legitimate tenet of Islam,” and then argued that Islamic extremists are victims of “political, economic and social forces.” Additionally he argued that those who have attacked the US and described their own cause as religious, should still not be described in “religious terms.”

Brennan’s full statement is “Nor do we describe our enemy as ‘jihadists’ or ‘Islamists’ because jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one’s community, and there is nothing holy or legitimate or Islamic about murdering innocent men, women and children.” Unfortunately the definition that Brennan has seemingly adapted on behalf of the administration, refuses to define what jihadists and fundamental Islamists define as innocent – which doesn’t include anyone deemed an ‘infidel’.

Brennan, an Arabist, also referred to Jerusalem by its Arabic name “Al Quds” in a February speech, sponsored by the White House, which represents a major shift in the generally accepted vernacular of American government officials.